BLE and WIFI module for beaglebone black.

Hello everyone,

I want to integrate BLE and WIFI module with beaglebone black but I am confused which modules to use?

any suggestions please?

Regards

Dhanraj

If you are looking for the TI WL18xx family then there are capes with it which are integrated into Robert Nelson’s build. However, the only one you can buy today is from StreamUnlimited (http://streamunlimited.com/products/wifiaudiocape.html). This is quite expensive though as it is a commercial evaluation board targetting a specialised market for audio speakers.
As you can see on the TI wiki there are references to a WL1837 cape from E14. It is coming although there is no date when it will ship.
Iain

Hi,
thanks for reply!
cape is costly solution.
I am thinking of using a module.
similar to the module in link below-
http://www.cnx-software.com/2015/11/18/redbear-duo-is-a-breadboard-friendly-wi-fi-ble-iot-board-based-on-ampak-ap6212-module-crowdfunding/

can it be used with BBB?
is there any other modules similar to this?

can it be used with BBB?

Any device module that has an I2C, SPI, or UART interface ( common interfaces ) can be used with the beaglebones. It’s up to you the hardware integrator to make it work.

is there any other modules similar to this?

No, not really. There are device modules that perform similar capabilities, but the price for the device you shared a link to is a bit unrealistic. The most well known are perhaps the TI SimpleLink wireless combo devices.

Hi,
thanks for reply!
cape is costly solution.
I am thinking of using a module.
similar to the module in link below-
http://www.cnx-software.com/2015/11/18/redbear-duo-is-a-breadboard-friendly-wi-fi-ble-iot-board-based-on-ampak-ap6212-module-crowdfunding/

Or, if you are just interested in experimenting with WiFi and BT , want to easily get something running, and don’t care about tightly integrated solutions, you could use USB dongles and a powered USB hub.

TP-Link TL-WN722N works great and has good kernel driver/firmware support (based on Atheros chipset).

As far as BT, I have successfully used JBtek and Kinovo USB dongles.

The issue with any module is going to be kernel driver and firmware support.

ba

I’ve had real bad luck with BLE dongles so far. range on them is fairly bad it sems, At least the ones I’ve tried so far. Just an idea of what I mean. I’ve had a Beaglebone about 3-3.5m from a BLE / smart LED bulb, and the singles I’ve used can not even pick the device up. But the BT 4.0 module in my laptop same distance sees it just fine. Also, for what it’s worth though, the BT module in my Nexus 7 was nearly as bad as well . . .

Just a random thought . . . I’ve started to think if I go the wireless for a sensor or two I might actually opt for a low cost true wifi solution. Perhaps even lower frequency - 433Mhz, etc.